Posted - 07/24/2014 : 09:16:15 Not making excuses for the Leafs here, but by the mid way point last year, most Leafs fans were not calling for the GM and coaching staffs head. Fans of other teams were talking about the pitfalls of running a low possession team which got outshot regularly and relied on stellar goaltending to carry them through. I don't think Noonis is to blame for much except the Clarkson/Phaneuf signing and to be honest, Clarkson should have been better, maybe not contract $ value, but better.

Phaneuf may not be a $7 million player, but with the right package and a willingness to keep some of his salary, he is movable. I'd say he is $2-2.5 million high on contract value and if on the open market for $4.5-5 he would receive offers. But as I have said many times in the past, how much of his salary is because he hold the most micro/analyzed jobs in the NHL.

I am gonna be Phanuefs devils advocate here for a 2nd. He was tied with Gardiner for 2nd on the Leafs defense in scoring 2 points behind Franson and was one of only 2 leafs defender who had a positive +/-. Here is a link to his none goals, points and +/- stats. http://www.extraskater.com/team/toronto-maple-leafs/2013

The team is better in most situations when Phanuef is on the ice, even though the team face the toughest competition when Phanuef is on the ice. If you look at his in game analysis, he is responsible for more in game situations and ice times in every circumstances than any other Leafs defender, with the exception of Gunnarson in short handed situations. Every other defender is deployed in more sheltered offensive zone starts than Phanuef, which is why you see him more often in bad situations, yet he is again one of the 2 +/- players on defense for the Leafs. He is literally the most important player on the back end. Take him away and the possession numbers would look much worse, regardless of the highlight reel mistake he makes.

The Duke

Posted - 07/23/2014 : 18:25:57 Slozo, i have no problem with the leafs trying to build from within, its actually about time, give some of the young players a chance.

As to the leafs not signing ANY big name free agents.....the main reason is they WONT go there.

I`d love to see Phaneuf go but what kind of a moron besides Nonis is going to give Phaneuf 7 million for 7 years ????....a D- man who constantly gets caught up the ice, makes bonehead plays, cant hit the net with his shot and on top of all that he CANT Skate !!!!...why wasn`t Nonis fired i`d say, and Randy too......its so ironic that the assistant coaches were fired for implementing Randys system....what a joke.

Alex116

Posted - 07/22/2014 : 08:43:11 Slozo, i think you've made some good observations re the Leafs. I agree that Clarkson can't possibly be as bad as last year and while i don't think he'll ever live up to the contract he signed, an improvement from him is likely. The young dmen have a ton of potential for sure. Gardiner is the one i'm not as certain about though. Before the drafting of Rielly, many Leaf fans talked about Gardiner being incredibly good, untouchable, etc and he's not really lived up to the hype. Being fair, we do know that dmen usually develop slower than forwards (case in point V. Hedman) so TO may be doing the smart thing and showing patience. JVR is legit imo and i don't think we'll see him regress. He may not be much more than the 30-30 sort of guy he was last year but i could see him adding 5-10 assists to become a 30-40 guy in the future.

Kesler def had a very small list of teams he'd accept a deal to. If rumours are true, that list was just 2 (maybe 3) teams when it came down to it. To be honest, i'm not sure he'd have been worth what the Leafs may have had to give up?

Bottom line is, things are looking up for the Leafs for sure and Nylander could very well become a nice young piece to the puzzle. From what i hear, the Leafs are impressed with what they've seen from him thus far. Not sure how soon to expect him to be suiting up regularly in the NHL but the potential is there to become a very good player.

A lot of people were not happy with the Phaneuf contract yet as always, there are teams interested. There always seem to be teams needing to take on salary so depending on his NTC status (does he have one?), he could be on the move. There was that rumoured deal to Edm at the draft (one that was around for quite some time) where they'd send Phaneuf and the 8th for the 3rd from Edm. The rumour continued that TO would then flip the 3rd and something else for the 1st to take Ekblad? Again, just rumours, but these two were thrown around quite a bit leading up to the draft. I get the feeling Edm just liked Draisaitl too much to part with the #3.

Ah, the offseason. Time to look at our teams and start dreaming up trade scenarios while we await October!

slozo

Posted - 07/22/2014 : 06:16:49 Was too bad my Leafs missed out on Kesler, I thought they might take a run at a deal there, but I think it was a very short list of teams he was willing to go to.

I believe the Leafs are far from done. From what I hear, Phaneuf is being "talked about" . . . not shopped, but, they are listening to offers/deals. Franson just got signed for a 3.3 mil one-year contract, and my guess is he's dealt before trade deadline.

I think there is going to be some improvement over last year with no moves amongst some of the staff . . . Reilly and Gardiner for starters, Kadri is still progressing, and Clarkson cannot possibly have a worse year so that's GOT to improve! On the other hand, will JVR continue to be the shooting star he was last year?

Considering our youth on defence and the lost year for Clarkson . . . I was totally ok with the stand pat attitude for the big names, while picking up Robidas and Polak. It says to me, management recognises we are going forward with some young talented guns in Reilly and Gardiner, and they needed solid, experienced pros as cheap additions.

I expect Franson to be traded, and I do expect one big move - I am predicting Lupul or Phaneuf to go before the season, something of that significance. And I think Reimer goes early in the season to whoever needs a goalie after injuries happen and his worth goes up.

Posted - 07/15/2014 : 14:20:42 Same ole leafs, not much flare. I do like some of the 3rd and 4th line signings. They improved their D somewhat, nothing great, just re-tooling. The leafs HAVENT addressed their main problems1) Dion Phaneuf. 2) Big center with size. 3) stagnant style of coaching.....guess it will be same old season.... If Bernier isn't brilliant , leafs will miss the playoffs

JOSHUACANADA

Posted - 07/05/2014 : 11:59:22 Tough for Ottawa to lose Spezza and Hemsky for Legwand and Chiasson. Dont see Legwand enough to rate him out of 10 but what I have heard is he is a 2way responsible (not Spezzas specialty and Ottawas weakness) 7/10 player with point production 2/3 of Spezza and more than enough leadership/defensive skills to replace him. I am by no means happy to see Spezza go, but Legwand fills more of what the Sens need right now with less drama.

Chiasson is suppose to be a decent prospect, who opened the 2013-14 season with 3 goals in 3 games, but ended his rookie season at 33 points in 79 games, due to an undisclose illness which dropped his bodymass by 10-15%. If he is fully recovered, is projected to be a 45-60+ point a year player the scout were excited about. A lot of years in Edmonton that was Hemskys production. Add in the fact Curtis Lazar, who I am extremely excited to see play in Ottawa, who has the same potential as Chiasson or better, is likely to make the move up to the NHL after having an extremely successful minor career on the Edmonton Oil Kings.

All in all this looks like about the same or better than last year with less drama.

Signed a happy Sens fan

mandree888

Posted - 07/03/2014 : 06:38:21 IGGY!!!! wow i didn't see that coming! outside this the off season was kind of a wash so far. they did virtually nothing to upgrade out the D corps. all they did was get some older guys who are supposed to provide leadership..... i will reserve my judgment until i watch them play. Loosing stastny hurts but gaining iggy is awesome!.

TML....... what can i saY they resign Komorav! GOOD! they needed him. Frattin? Really?!?! there was no one else you could find that would do the same things as him?!?!i really dont understand the buyout of gleason. he was one of the only people sacrifising his body and blocking shots. and they replace him with someone who had not one but TWO broken legs last year.......

i would give the aves 5/10and the leafs a 3/10

neither one improved their glaring weakness and that is the D!

SANTORELLI TO THE LEAFS. 1.5 mil for 1 year

Alex116

Posted - 07/02/2014 : 23:01:27 I'm beginning to get more on board with the "re-tooling on the fly" thing. I believe I've been convinced, after HATING the Miller signing originally, that the Canucks likely weren't going to be bad enough with or without him to have a really good shot at a top 2 next year. So, with that in mind....

Kesler - Very happy he was moved. I liked him (a lot) as a player and I think Anaheim, providing he can go into the playoffs healthy, is going to love him too! He really is a difference maker and I can't imagine someone wanting to win more than he does. I'll never forget his face/body language after the defeat in the gold medal game in 2010. A very similar look after game 7 SCF the following season. This guy needs NO motivation!

Draft - Unsure. I want to like it, but I just don't know. The Virtanen pick could be golden, but only time will tell. I don't know how close they came to moving up for Reinhart but I'd have felt really good had they got him. I read that they offered the 6th, 24th and Shinkaruk (and possibly a roster player?) and that wasn't enough? Tough call, I'd have been ok with a slight overpay but depending on that roster player, it may have been too much? The 10th overall that they couldn't squeeze out of Anaheim in the Kesler deal may have gotten the deal done but alas, they couldn't pry it away from the Ducks who unbelievably, got a potential stud (Ritchie) who some had ranked around 5-6? Back to Virtanen, it bothers me a little that the rankings on this kid range from 7th (Bob Mackenzie and the ISS) to 43rd overall (Craig Button)??? Huh? 43??? Mcann I think was good value where they got him, as he was ranked top 20 by most, but I'd have rather seen them gamble and take Sherbak or Barbashev (no, unlike most, I'm not worried about the Russian factor so much as I think it's overblown!). Demko? Thatcher Demko? With a name like that, what's not to like? lol. Years away from any impact I'm sure, but I'm ok with them taking a goalie there. The rest? NO IDEA, but everything I read says they simply drafted a bunch of size! Overall, I'm ok with Benning's first draft.

Linden Vey - I like this move. I think he can contribute and grow and will obviously get a shot here. Really good trade for both teams as he wasn't going to get a realistic shot in LA anytime soon.

Dorsett - Sure, fills a hole. Heard he's got a tendancy for stupid penalties though so I may hate him by mid Oct.

Miller - Warming up to him after originally hating the deal as I noted above. Could be good for a couple years and if there's anything less, he's prob tradeable at the deadline in 2016? If not, there's always the buyout route if Lack or Markstrom is ready by then?

Vrbata - Too much money, but I guess the owners have money to burn and the Canucks had cap space? Will get a shot with the twins, who I think will have somewhat of a bounce back year, and could do well. 20 goal min is my guess and may get upwards of 30+ if our PP can return to a respectable level.

I'm a little worried about the pace of the Tanev negotiations, especially after hearing his name come up in rumours. However, if they were to trade him now while his stock is reasonably high, I'd be ok with it as I don't think his "ceiling" is much higher than where he's at. Kassian will get a deal done sooner or later so I'm not worried. Santorelli I feel for. I think he deserved better than he was offered and if there's still room for him, I'd love to see him back.

In all, I don't see the Canucks as a playoff team, however they could squeeze into 8th (I certainly don't want them to) depending on how other teams do. I expect the twins to bounce back and while not PPG guys, close to it.

I give Benning an 8 so far. His MO may not be the same as what I'd have, but considering his and the moves he made, I think he made out well! Although I'm unsure of Virtanen, any guy we took at 6 was going to be somewhat of a gamble. Keep hearing Nylander and Ehlers names mentioned but both are under 6' tall and this darn Western Conference is so tough on the little guys! They too would have been gambles!

nuxfan

Posted - 07/02/2014 : 20:35:40 so far I like what VAN has done.

Kesler - hate to lose him, but if he doesn't want to be there he should go, VAN doesn't need another drama this year. I think Benning got good return for him with Bonino, Sbisa, and a pick.

Draft - very impressed with Benning's first draft. Virtanen looks to be potentially great top-6 power forward, McCann a solid centre prospect. Demko will hopefully overcome surgeries and be a good goaltending prospect. Tryamkin... not sure, but it doesn't hurt to have a 6'7 dman in your pipeline.

Other pickups - I like the addition of Linden Vey and Derek Dorsett. Quality pluggers that work hard. Vey has some offensive upside as well.

Free agency - Not sure about Miller. Term and money both high, but I feel better with him in goal than Lack at this point. Like today's signing of Vrbata, he can score and VAN needs that.

Overall, I give Benning a solid 7/10. Miller is questionable, but if he does return to form of old this team could well be back in the playoffs next year. For the first time in years, VAN has some cap flexibility, although they still need to resign Kassian and Tanev, and perhaps Santorelli.

Contrary to others, I'm glad VAN is not going through a full rebuild. I don't think they need to do so (yet), and dumping everything now would have been premature.

Leafs81

Posted - 07/02/2014 : 09:38:57 I can't say that I like what the Leafs did in general.

First of all they drafted another really small player with talent. Toronto needs players that can maintain the pressure and do some cycling. Most of Toronto's top six are rush in type players that results in a lot of defensive zone coverage.

I also don't like the trade to go get Frattin. Good player but he's a top six type player that can't play top six minutes, that's why he couldn't find a job anywhere else.

I don't like the fact that they bought out Gleason, get a penalty on the salary cap to then Sign a 37 years old Robidas that plays similar to Gleason in the first place. Although Robidas is an improvment, not too sure if he will be at 37.

They still haven't figure out the goaltending issue with Reimer and getting a solid backup. Reimer wants to be traded, trade him. A bunch of teams signed some goalies and Toronto got rid of McIntyre, makes no sense. We will wait and see on this one I guess.

I like the trade they did to get Polak, solid defenseman for Gunnarson, good trade IMO. I like that they got Komarov back, good player that finishes his checks, if we can get enough depth to put him on the fourth line then it's good.

So all in all, I give Toronto's management a 4/10 for overall off season changes. No assistant coaches yet, Franson is still in the air, lots of players to sign still, not much money left and still has some holes in the lineup.